1.This Act may be cited as the
Vote by Mail Act of
2010
.
2.Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)The Supreme Court
declared in Reynolds v. Sims that it
has been repeatedly recognized that all qualified voters have a
constitutionally protected right to vote … and to have their votes
counted.
(2)In recent
presidential elections, voting technology failures, procedural irregularities,
and long lines for polling places deprived some Americans of their fundamental
right to vote.
(3)Under the Oregon
Vote by Mail system, election officials mail ballots to all registered voters
at least 2 weeks before election day. Voters mark their ballots, seal the
ballots in both unmarked secrecy envelopes and signed return envelopes, and
return the ballots by mail or to secure drop boxes. Once a ballot is received,
election officials scan the bar code on the ballot envelope, which brings up
the voter's signature on a computer screen. The election official compares the
signature on the screen and the signature on the ballot envelope. Only if the
signature on the ballot envelope is determined to be authentic is the ballot
forwarded on to be counted.
(4)Oregon's Vote by
Mail system has deterred voter fraud because the system includes numerous
security measures such as the signature authentication system. Potential
misconduct is also discouraged by the power of the State to punish those who
engage in voter fraud with up to 5 years in prison, $100,000 in fines, and the
loss of their vote.
(5)Oregon's Vote by
Mail system promotes uniformity and strict compliance with Federal and State
voting laws because ballot processing is centralized in county clerks' offices,
rather than at numerous polling places.
(6)Vote by Mail is 1
factor making voter turnout in Oregon consistently higher than the average
national voter turnout. In the 2004 presidential election, for example, Oregon
had a turnout rate of 86.48 percent of registered voters, compared to 69.96
percent turnout of registered voters nationally.
(7)Women, younger
voters, and homemakers also report that they vote more often using Vote by
Mail.
(8)Vote by Mail
reduces election costs by eliminating the need to transport equipment to
polling stations and to hire and train poll workers. Oregon reduced its costs
to administer elections by nearly 30 percent after implementing Vote by Mail.
In Oregon’s last polling place election in 1998, the cost per voter was $3.07.
By 2004, the cost per voter in Oregon had dropped to $2.21.
(9)Vote by Mail
allows voters to educate themselves because they receive ballots well before
election day, which provides them with ample time to research issues, study
ballots, and deliberate in a way that is not possible at a polling
place.
(10)Vote by Mail is
accurate—at least 2 studies comparing voting technologies show that absentee
voting methods, including Vote by Mail systems, result in a more accurate vote
count.
(11)Vote by Mail
results in more up-to-date voter rolls, since election officials use forwarding
information from the post office to update voter registration.
(12)Vote by Mail
allows voters to visually verify that their votes were cast correctly and
produces a paper trail for election recounts.
(13)In a survey
taken 5 years after Oregon implemented the Vote by Mail system, more than 8 in
10 Oregon voters said they preferred voting by mail to traditional
voting.
(14)Voters in other
States are moving toward Vote by Mail as well. In 2008, 89 percent of voters in
Washington State who cast ballots voted by mail, 64 percent of voters in
Colorado voted by mail, and 44 percent of voters in California voted by
mail.
3.In this Act:
(1)The term election means any
general, special, primary, or runoff election.
(2)The term participating State
means a State receiving a grant under the Vote by Mail grant program under
section 4.
(3)The term residual vote rate
means the sum of all votes that cannot be counted in an election (overvotes,
undervotes, and otherwise spoiled ballots) divided by the total number of votes
cast.
(4)The term State means a State
of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, or a territory or possession of the United States.
(5)The term voting system has the
meaning given such term under section 301(b) of the Help America Vote Act of
2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481(b)).
4.Vote by mail grant program
(a)Not later than 270 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Election Assistance Commission shall establish a
Vote by Mail grant program (in this section referred to as the
program).
(b)The purpose of the program is to make
implementation grants to participating States solely for the implementation of
procedures for the conduct of all elections by mail at the State or local
government level.
(c)Limitation on use of fundsIn no case may grants made under this
section be used to reimburse a State for costs incurred in implementing mail-in
voting for elections at the State or local government level if such costs were
incurred prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
(d)A State seeking to participate in the
program under this section shall submit an application to the Election
Assistance Commission containing such information, and at such time, as the
Election Assistance Commission may specify.
(e)Amount and awarding of implementation
grants; duration of program
(1)Amount of implementation grants
(A)Subject to subparagraph (B), the amount of
an implementation grant made to a participating State shall be, in the case of
a State that certifies that it will implement all elections by mail in
accordance with the requirements of subsection (f), with respect to—
(i)the entire State, $2,000,000; or
(ii)any single unit or multiple units of local
government within the State, $1,000,000.
(B)
(i)To the extent that there are excess funds
in either of the first 2 years of the program, such funds may be used to award
implementation grants to participating States in subsequent years.
(ii)For purposes of clause (i), the term
excess funds means any amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization under subsection (h)(1) with respect to a fiscal year that are
not awarded to a participating State under an implementation grant during such
fiscal year.
(C)Continuing availability of funds after
appropriationAn
implementation grant made to a participating State under this section shall be
available to the State without fiscal year limitation.
(2)Awarding of implementation grants
(A)The Election Assistance Commission shall
award implementation grants during each year in which the program is
conducted.
(B)The Election Assistance Commission shall
not award more than 1 implementation grant to any participating State under
this section over the duration of the program.
(3)The program shall be conducted for a period
of 3 years.
(f)
(1)A participating State shall establish and
implement procedures for conducting all elections by mail in the area with
respect to which it receives an implementation grant to conduct such elections,
including the following:
(A)A process for recording electronically each
voter’s registration information and signature.
(B)A process for mailing ballots to all
eligible voters.
(C)The designation of places for the deposit
of ballots cast in an election.
(D)A process for ensuring the secrecy and
integrity of ballots cast in the election.
(E)Procedures and penalties for preventing
election fraud and ballot tampering, including procedures for the verification
of the signature of the voter accompanying the ballot through comparison of
such signature with the signature of the voter maintained by the State in
accordance with subparagraph (A).
(F)Procedures for verifying that a ballot has
been received by the appropriate authority.
(G)Procedures for obtaining a replacement
ballot in the case of a ballot which is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not
received by the voter.
(H)A plan for training election workers in
signature verification techniques.
(I)Plans and procedures to ensure that voters
who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise disabled have the opportunity to
participate in elections conducted by mail and to ensure compliance with the
Help America Vote Act of 2002. Such plans and procedures shall be developed in
consultation with disabled and other civil rights organizations, voting rights
groups, State election officials, voter protection groups, and other interested
community organizations.
(J)Plans and procedures to ensure the
translation of ballots and voting materials in accordance with section 203 of
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973aa–1a).
(g)Best practices, technical assistance, and
reports
(1)The Election Assistance Commission
shall—
(A)develop, periodically issue, and, as
appropriate, update best practices for conducting elections by mail;
(B)provide technical assistance to
participating States for the purpose of implementing procedures for conducting
elections by mail; and
(C)submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress—
(i)annual reports on the implementation of
such procedures by participating States during each year in which the program
is conducted; and
(ii)upon completion of the program conducted
under this section, a final report on the program, together with
recommendations for such legislation or administrative action as the Election
Assistance Commission determines to be appropriate.
(2)In developing, issuing, and updating best
practices, developing materials to provide technical assistance to
participating States, and developing the annual and final reports under
paragraph (1), the Election Assistance Commission shall consult with interested
parties, including—
(A)State and local election officials;
(B)the United States Postal Service;
(C)the Postal Regulatory Commission
established under section 501 of title 39, United States Code; and
(D)voting rights groups, voter protection
groups, groups representing the disabled, and other civil rights or community
organizations.
(h)Authorization of appropriations
(1)There are authorized to be appropriated to
award grants under this section, for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2014,
$6,000,000, to remain available without fiscal year limitation until
expended.
(2)There are authorized to be appropriated to
administer the program under this section, $200,000 for the period of fiscal
years 2012 through 2014, to remain available without fiscal year limitation
until expended.
(i)Nothing in this Act may be construed to
authorize or require conduct prohibited under any of the following laws, or to
supersede, restrict, or limit the application of such laws:
(1)The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42
U.S.C. 15301 et seq.).
(2)The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C.
1973 et seq.).
(3)The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly
and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee et seq.).
(4)The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.).
(5)The National Voter Registration Act of 1993
(42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.).
(6)The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).
(7)The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
701 et seq.).
5.Study on implementation of mail-in voting
for elections
(a)
(1)The Comptroller General of the United
States (in this section referred to as the Comptroller General)
shall conduct a study evaluating the benefits of broader implementation of
mail-in voting in elections, taking into consideration the annual reports
submitted by the Election Assistance Commission under section 4(g)(1)(C)(i)
before November 1, 2013.
(2)The study conducted under paragraph (1)
shall include a comparison of traditional voting methods and mail-in voting
with respect to—
(A)the likelihood of voter fraud and
misconduct;
(B)the accuracy of voter rolls;
(C)the accuracy of election results;
(D)voter participation in urban and rural
communities and by minorities, language minorities (as defined in section 203
of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973aa–1a)), and individuals with
disabilities and by individuals who are homeless or who frequently change their
official residences;
(E)public confidence in the election
system;
(F)the residual vote rate, including such rate
based on voter age, education, income, race, or ethnicity or whether a voter
lives in an urban or rural community, is disabled, or is a language minority
(as so defined); and
(G)cost savings.
(3)In conducting the study under paragraph
(1), the Comptroller General shall consult with interested parties,
including—
(A)State and local election officials;
(B)the United States Postal Service;
(C)the Postal Regulatory Commission
established under section 501 of title 39, United States Code; and
(D)voting rights groups, voter protection
groups, groups representing the disabled, and other civil rights or community
organizations.
(b)Not later than November 1, 2013, the
Comptroller General shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report on the study conducted under subsection (a), together with
such recommendations for legislation or administrative action as the
Comptroller General determines to be appropriate.